Three World Cup women in Wisden list

The inclusion of three women in the Wisden Cricketers of the Year list was celebrated as “a really huge statement” yesterday – but the landmark announcement came with a note of caution.

England’s World Cup winners Heather Knight, Natalie Sciver and Anya Shrubsole were honoured alongside West Indies batsman Shai Hope and Essex seam bowler Jamie Porter. Only two women, Claire Taylor and Charlotte Edwards, had previously been included on the list since its 1889 inception.

Shrubsole becomes the first woman to grace the cover, as Wisden’s 155th edition celebrates England’s achievements of last summer, when the World Cup final triumph against India at Lord’s sent their profile soaring.

Former England captain Clare Connor said the sport must “keep challenging itself to be better” as she acknowledged cricket was not immune to the sexism issues that have plagued wider society.

She said: “The Wisden Almanack is very precious in our cricketing heritage and it’s a really fantastic celebration of not only what those three players achieved last year, and the role they played in Heather being able to lift the World Cup, but it’s a wonderful acknowledgement of where the women’s game is in the cricketing consciousness.”

She backed a powerful editorial in the book that reports how sexism continues to be a problem within cricket.

Connor added: “It’s right that it’s called out and it’s right that sport generally, and cricket particularly, has to keep challenging itself to be better and to be completely welcoming and completely inclusive.

“It’s a really huge statement from Wisden. I’m sure it’s one they thought long and hard about because it’s really putting themselves out there.”

Lawrence Booth, the Wisden editor, said: “Wisden shouldn’t be too smug: we have often been slow to acknowledge the women’s game. Thanks to Shrubsole and her teammates, the case has become unanswerable. There were few cries of tokenism.”